Liberal Arts Schools in Ohio

[Anonymous]

Now that my DD's college search is in full swing, I'm suprised that there are so many great offerings in Ohio. Yes, I'm an East Coast elitist snob, but certainly learning the error of my ways. For those in the know, please let me know of your impressions of Oberlin, Kenyon, Denison, Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan...did I miss any? Is there a stereotypical student at each one?

[Anonymous]

Oberlin is very liberal, progressive, artsy/hipster. Lena Dunham went there, FYI. She gives you a good insight into the Oberlin students (for better or for worse).

Kenyon is a solid school. Preppy vibe on the outside, more diversity than you'd imagine on the inside. Still quite white, dominated by East Coast private school grads and UMC midwestern private/public school grads. Has its fair share of students genuinely interested in academia.

Denison is a step down from Kenyon. Ohio Wesleyan is a step down from Denison. Kenyon-Denison-OW have more similar than dissimilar student vibes.

Anonymous wrote:Now that my DD's college search is in full swing, I'm suprised that there are so many great offerings in Ohio. Yes, I'm an East Coast elitist snob, but certainly learning the error of my ways. For those in the know, please let me know of your impressions of Oberlin, Kenyon, Denison, Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan...did I miss any? Is there a stereotypical student at each one?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin is very liberal, progressive, artsy/hipster. Lena Dunham went there, FYI. She gives you a good insight into the Oberlin students (for better or for worse).

Kenyon is a solid school. Preppy vibe on the outside, more diversity than you'd imagine on the inside. Still quite white, dominated by East Coast private school grads and UMC midwestern private/public school grads. Has its fair share of students genuinely interested in academia.

Denison is a step down from Kenyon. Ohio Wesleyan is a step down from Denison. Kenyon-Denison-OW have more similar than dissimilar student vibes.

Anonymous wrote:Now that my DD's college search is in full swing, I'm suprised that there are so many great offerings in Ohio. Yes, I'm an East Coast elitist snob, but certainly learning the error of my ways. For those in the know, please let me know of your impressions of Oberlin, Kenyon, Denison, Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan...did I miss any? Is there a stereotypical student at each one?

Very helpful. Thanks. What is "UMC"?

[Anonymous]

Dayton is a great school

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin is very liberal, progressive, artsy/hipster. Lena Dunham went there, FYI. She gives you a good insight into the Oberlin students (for better or for worse).

Kenyon is a solid school. Preppy vibe on the outside, more diversity than you'd imagine on the inside. Still quite white, dominated by East Coast private school grads and UMC midwestern private/public school grads. Has its fair share of students genuinely interested in academia.

Denison is a step down from Kenyon. Ohio Wesleyan is a step down from Denison. Kenyon-Denison-OW have more similar than dissimilar student vibes.

Anonymous wrote:Now that my DD's college search is in full swing, I'm suprised that there are so many great offerings in Ohio. Yes, I'm an East Coast elitist snob, but certainly learning the error of my ways. For those in the know, please let me know of your impressions of Oberlin, Kenyon, Denison, Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan...did I miss any? Is there a stereotypical student at each one?

Very helpful. Thanks. What is "UMC"?

upper middle class.

i.e. rich people in expensive areas to live that think they are working class because they have to work like dogs to maintain their standard of living.

[Anonymous]

Kenyon and Oberlin are the most selective, but are basically in the middle of nowhere (as are the others mentioned in this thread).

Oberlin is a great school. It's definitely kind of the epitome of the "micro-aggression" movement. That could be a plus or minus, depending on your kid.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin is very liberal, progressive, artsy/hipster. Lena Dunham went there, FYI. She gives you a good insight into the Oberlin students (for better or for worse).

Kenyon is a solid school. Preppy vibe on the outside, more diversity than you'd imagine on the inside. Still quite white, dominated by East Coast private school grads and UMC midwestern private/public school grads. Has its fair share of students genuinely interested in academia.

Denison is a step down from Kenyon. Ohio Wesleyan is a step down from Denison. Kenyon-Denison-OW have more similar than dissimilar student vibes.

Anonymous wrote:Now that my DD's college search is in full swing, I'm suprised that there are so many great offerings in Ohio. Yes, I'm an East Coast elitist snob, but certainly learning the error of my ways. For those in the know, please let me know of your impressions of Oberlin, Kenyon, Denison, Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan...did I miss any? Is there a stereotypical student at each one?

Thanks for input! What about Miami in Oxford? Where does that fit in. In terms of vibe, heard its very preppy?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin is very liberal, progressive, artsy/hipster. Lena Dunham went there, FYI. She gives you a good insight into the Oberlin students (for better or for worse).

Kenyon is a solid school. Preppy vibe on the outside, more diversity than you'd imagine on the inside. Still quite white, dominated by East Coast private school grads and UMC midwestern private/public school grads. Has its fair share of students genuinely interested in academia.

Denison is a step down from Kenyon. Ohio Wesleyan is a step down from Denison. Kenyon-Denison-OW have more similar than dissimilar student vibes.

Anonymous wrote:Now that my DD's college search is in full swing, I'm suprised that there are so many great offerings in Ohio. Yes, I'm an East Coast elitist snob, but certainly learning the error of my ways. For those in the know, please let me know of your impressions of Oberlin, Kenyon, Denison, Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan...did I miss any? Is there a stereotypical student at each one?

Very helpful. Thanks. What is "UMC"?

Enough reason to strike it off the list.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin is very liberal, progressive, artsy/hipster. Lena Dunham went there, FYI. She gives you a good insight into the Oberlin students (for better or for worse).

Kenyon is a solid school. Preppy vibe on the outside, more diversity than you'd imagine on the inside. Still quite white, dominated by East Coast private school grads and UMC midwestern private/public school grads. Has its fair share of students genuinely interested in academia.

Denison is a step down from Kenyon. Ohio Wesleyan is a step down from Denison. Kenyon-Denison-OW have more similar than dissimilar student vibes.

Anonymous wrote:Now that my DD's college search is in full swing, I'm suprised that there are so many great offerings in Ohio. Yes, I'm an East Coast elitist snob, but certainly learning the error of my ways. For those in the know, please let me know of your impressions of Oberlin, Kenyon, Denison, Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan...did I miss any? Is there a stereotypical student at each one?

Not really, at least not in terms of the freshmen profile stats. In pure selectivity terms, yes, Kenyon is more selective than Denison is, but the freshman class stats for the two this year are virtually identical in terms of SAT and ACT scores and average GPAs of the incoming class. (FWIW, Denison has become far more competitive in that respect.)

http://colleges.startclass.com/compare/3255-3295/Denison-University-vs-Kenyon-College

Denison gives more merit aid than Kenyon does, by far.

[Anonymous]

My DC chose Denison after applying to a number of Ohio schools, among others. DC is very happy there and from a parent's point of view, so have I. FWIW, I was very impressed with all of them and would have been happy had DC chosen any one.

Bonus: The drive to Ohio is pretty easy albeit boring. No contending with the horrors of 95!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin is very liberal, progressive, artsy/hipster. Lena Dunham went there, FYI. She gives you a good insight into the Oberlin students (for better or for worse).

Kenyon is a solid school. Preppy vibe on the outside, more diversity than you'd imagine on the inside. Still quite white, dominated by East Coast private school grads and UMC midwestern private/public school grads. Has its fair share of students genuinely interested in academia.

Denison is a step down from Kenyon. Ohio Wesleyan is a step down from Denison. Kenyon-Denison-OW have more similar than dissimilar student vibes.

Anonymous wrote:Now that my DD's college search is in full swing, I'm suprised that there are so many great offerings in Ohio. Yes, I'm an East Coast elitist snob, but certainly learning the error of my ways. For those in the know, please let me know of your impressions of Oberlin, Kenyon, Denison, Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan...did I miss any? Is there a stereotypical student at each one?

Very helpful. Thanks. What is "UMC"?

upper middle class.

i.e. rich people in expensive areas to live that think they are working class because they have to work like dogs to maintain their standard of living.

Those who pay a disproportionate portion of all the income tax collected because the are not rich (smart) enough to avoid taxes and not poor enough to be exempted from income tax.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oberlin is very liberal, progressive, artsy/hipster. Lena Dunham went there, FYI. She gives you a good insight into the Oberlin students (for better or for worse).

Kenyon is a solid school. Preppy vibe on the outside, more diversity than you'd imagine on the inside. Still quite white, dominated by East Coast private school grads and UMC midwestern private/public school grads. Has its fair share of students genuinely interested in academia.

Denison is a step down from Kenyon. Ohio Wesleyan is a step down from Denison. Kenyon-Denison-OW have more similar than dissimilar student vibes.

Anonymous wrote:Now that my DD's college search is in full swing, I'm suprised that there are so many great offerings in Ohio. Yes, I'm an East Coast elitist snob, but certainly learning the error of my ways. For those in the know, please let me know of your impressions of Oberlin, Kenyon, Denison, Wooster, Ohio Wesleyan...did I miss any? Is there a stereotypical student at each one?

Thanks for input! What about Miami in Oxford? Where does that fit in. In terms of vibe, heard its very preppy?

It's a big public university (c. 16,000, so midsize for public university, but way bigger than the 2000 student SLACs). Aggressively recruit and give money to OOS kids.

[Anonymous]

Op, I agree. East Coast kids would be very smart to look at Ohio schools, and I'll add, including the public universities.

[Anonymous]

If you're looking for a complete list, you can add Antioch and maybe Xavier.

[Anonymous]

Dayton!